Mozilla has ended a controversy surrounding a sudden announcement that the browser maker would drop the version number from the ‘About’ window, which sparks a huge criticism from the IT world.

Mozilla’s Firefox product manager Asa Dotzler announced last week that the version number would be dropped and replaced with a note that the browser is up to date. (The version number would move to the troubleshooting window.) Dotzler argued that such a change would indicate that Firefox is changing into the direction of a web service such as MSN or Gmail – and no one is interested in what version of Gmail is currently running in their browser.

The result was a heated discussion in which Firefox users attacked developer staff in an exchange of online message posts. Many Firefox users apparently felt offended that Mozilla would simply remove such a feature and use vocabulary that was very much the opposite of what Mozilla preaches – and appeared to be arrogant at times (you can read the threads here).

Mozilla deleted the bug report that described the version number removal. Mozilla then announced that it no longer intends to remove the version number – a sign that Mozilla is listening to its users.

Crytek released a free version of its CryENGINE 3 last week and it’s already been downloaded over 100,000 times.

When you think of downloading a free game engine, typically it’s Epic’s Unreal Engine 3, Unity and even Valve’s Source SDK once you’ve purchased a Source-based PC game. But on August 17 during Gamescom, Crytek decided to add its own free version of CryENGINE 3 into the mix, and saw a whopping 100,000 downloads within just five days.

“In line with GDC Europe and Gamescom last week, the independent developer had announced the release of a CryENGINE 3 free of charge for non-commercial use,” the company said Monday. “The award winning SDK provides the complete game engine to create AAA quality next generation games for PC, and includes the CryENGINE 3 Sandbox level editor, a production-proven, 3rd generation ‘What you see is what you play’ (WYSIWYP) – tool designed by and for professional developers.”

Naturally this free version is for personal use – it can’t be used to develop games to be sold on retail shelves. That said, Crytek also offers a royalty-only license model for developers who are interested in using the SDK for commercialized projects. Crytek only requires 20-percent of the developer revenue stemming from the launch of the game.

The free toolset is available for download at crydev.net right here. As of this writing, the download weighs around 658 MB and reports a current download number of 110,100. As the notes state, it’s free to use in educational facilities and for non-commercial use – all else requires a development license. The system requirements for both developer and end-user are as follows:

System Requirements [Developer]

• Supported operating Systems: XP, Vista, Windows 7 (with Windows 7 recommended)
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GHz, AMD Athlon 64 X2 2 GHz or better
• Memory: 2 GB RAM (4 GB recommended)
• Video Card : nVidia 8800GT 512 MB RAM, ATI 3850HD 512 MB RAM or better

System Requirements [End User]

• * End Users who only use the game launcher without Sandbox have lower system requirements.
• Supported operating Systems: Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista SP1 or SP2, Windows 7
• CPU: 32-bit or 64-bit processor (a multi-core processor is strongly recommended)
• Memory: 1 GB RAM (2 GB recommended)
• Video Card: ShaderModel 3 capable graphics card (for example an Nvidia 6 series card)

Called Hybrid Memory Cube (HMC), the technology represents a logic layer with a stack of memory chips that are vertically connected with through silicon vias (TSVs). According to Micron, the numbers of contacts as well as short distances enable dramatically higher data transfer rates than today’s memory architecture. The prototype shown at Hot Chips was rated at 128 GBps.

In comparison, current DDR3-1600 devices deliver 12.8 GBps. Micron claims that a single HMC could deliver about 20 times the bandwidth of a DDR3 module, while it consumes substantially less energy – only 10 percent of the energy per bit that DDR3 uses. According to the manufacturer, the architecture also requires about 90 percent less space than current RDIMMs.

Micron does not provide any information when HMCs will be available for purchase, but it pitches the technology as a way to break through the “memory wall”, which is a term that commonly refers to the relatively small gains in memory efficiency and performance gains. The memory is designed to be used either to be used in close proximity to the CPU in performance-based systems or as far memory in systems that are built for better power efficiency.

SOURCE via CT

Global positioning systems have become surprisingly accurate in the 2D landscape – certainly much more accurate than what we would have expected about 10 years ago.

However, altitude measurements aren’t on the same level. However, researchers at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Poland and at Ohio State University said they have developed a software that is improving vertical accuracy and will enhance applications that are used in potentially hazardous regions at high altitudes.

They also claim that their software could be used to measure how quickly glaciers at high altitudes are melting. The new technology will enable GPS systems to reflect the correct location, including altitude, within a few inches.

According to the researchers, the determination of altitude is tricky as it is affected by electron interaction and tropospheric refraction that re-route GPS signals. Today’s models do not always correctly account for tropospheric delays and do not fully consider the impact of weather and temperature variations. The new software developed at both universities was tested in three different scenarios using ground station receivers located in the Carpathian Mountains in Poland – a region known for its steep slopes. They discovered one method that gave the correct altitude 97 percent of the time.

“Of the three methods we tested, the third and most accurate was also the most complicated,” said Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska, professor of civil and environmental engineering and geodetic science at Ohio State University. “This method was developed by our team, and required knowledge of three or four reference stations in order to perform the calculations properly.”

The team said that it will conduct further testing, but noted that there is already enough evidence that GPS in 3D scenarios can be improved.

SOURCE via Ohio State University

Google just announced the Google TV add-on for the Android SDK, which allows Android developers to test their applications for display on TVs. Google will release Android compatibility for Google TV with the upcoming update for Honeycomb.

For now, developers can only emulate Google TV (only on Linux with KVM) and not all features are supported yet, Google explained in a blog post. However there are new APIs for TV interaction, such as access to the TV channel lineup. So far, it is more a playground than a full development kit, but developers can start getting comfortable with Google TV. Google provides initial help with UI guidelines for Google TV apps.

While Android Market could be a killer feature for Google TV, users should not expect hundreds of thousands of apps to be available right away. According to Google, apps that require support for device features that are not available on a TV won’t be available on Android Market that is shown on TVs. That would include apps that rely on touchscreen data input. In fact, Google said that the initial number of apps for Google TVs will be “small”.

SOURCE via Google

Part of Origin’s EULA allows Electronic Arts to snoop through your system — including installed and uninstalled software — and send that information to third-party service providers.

The gaming publisher is currently under fire by outraged consumers after a close examination of the End User License Agreement for Origin reveals that it grants EA the right to snoop through desktops and laptops once the user agrees to the terms. If that wasn’t invasive enough, the agreement also allows EA to share all that information to third party service providers.

“You agree that EA may collect, use, store and transmit technical and related information that identifies your computer (including the Internet Protocol Address), operating system, Application usage (including but not limited to successful installation and/or removal), software, software usage and peripheral hardware, that may be gathered periodically to facilitate the provision of software updates, dynamically served content, product support and other services to you, including online services,” the agreement reads. “EA may also use this information combined with personal information for marketing purposes and to improve our products and services. We may also share that data with our third party service providers in a form that does not personally identify you. IF YOU DO NOT WANT EA TO COLLECT, USE, STORE, TRANSMIT OR DISPLAY THE DATA DESCRIBED IN THIS SECTION, PLEASE DO NOT INSTALL OR USE THE APPLICATION.”

Now here’s the kicker: if EA customers don’t agree to the company’s snooping and sharing of private data to third parties, then they won’t have access to exclusive PC games like Battlefield 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic. The Origin agreement also doesn’t allow the user to opt out at any time after the initial acceptance, meaning that they either must choose to share their personal information indefinitely, or not play EA’s exclusive PC games at all.

Reddit is currently rallying EA gamers to contact the company by email or snail mail to protest against the invasion of privacy. According to EA’s privacy policy instructions, consumers can first try to settle the matter with the company directly using the contact info at http://www.ea.com/1/privacy-contacts. Consumers can also drop an email to the relevant statutory privacy body or advocacy group, presumably the Electronic Frontier Foundation which typically stands up for gamer privacy rights.

Then again, Origin’s invasive nature may have been one of the reasons why EA chose to launch its own client in the first place: to see who is pirating EA games… if it indeed scans all installed and uninstalled software on a system, that is.

So far EA hasn’t publicly responded to the complaints.

While we already know that Microsoft’s “Mango” build of Windows Phone 7 is already in the hands of manufacturers, a new report concerning the update reveals that, going forward, devices sporting Windows Phone 7.5 will feature a front-facing camera and Skype integration for video calling. The news was confirmed on Thursday in a session at Microsoft Tech-Ed 2011 in New Zealand.

Three Windows Phone 7.5 devices have already been spotted in the “wild,” one prototype from Asus, one nearly-complete device from Acer (the M310), and Fujitsu’s IS12T which actually launched as the first 7.5 smartphone today in Japan. The Acer and Asus phones reportedly sport front-facing cameras; the just-released Fujitsu phone does not.

Earlier this year, Microsoft inadvertently made its intentions to compete with Apple’s FaceTime service perfectly clear by referencing to a “portrait camera” in the Windows Phone 7 SDK. That said, news of the new front-facing standard provided by the Mango update isn’t surprising.

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